The firm comments, "We place PXD in our top pick bucket (both on the value and growth front), given its scale in two of the most coveted domestic resource plays – the Wolfcamp shale in the Midland Basin and Eagle Ford shale in Texas. With more than 40,000 locations and 8.0 billion boe of upside potential (vs. 2012 year-end proved reserves of 1.09 billion boe), largely from the Midland Basin, we view PXD as a powerhouse in Texas. PXD has been able to execute with improving well results out of emerging horizontal targets in the Midland Basin and improving capital efficiencies (complemented by the vertical integration model) - a trend we expect to continue."

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